Journal Travel | Your local e-newspaper

Like a needle pointing straight toward the clouds, Toronto's skyline would resemble a thousand other metropolitan landscapes if it wasn't for the commanding CN Tower. But there it stands, all 1,815-feet of steel and concrete‹a testimony to man's imagination and tenacity.

Three quarters of the way up twirls ever so slowly and rhythmically the 360, a revolving restaurant of fine dining and opulence. Its menu offers everything from lobster to filet. The service is impeccable. The customers are regular folks dressed from casually to formally out on the town looking for a good time. The cost, of course, predictable. The real treat is below where at night the white, blue and red lights of this modern, bustling city sparkle. Barely visible couples, many holding hands, move slowly along the main boulevards. The city's famed Entertainment District that includes the Air Canada hockey arena and the Rogers Center (formerly known as the SkyDome) comes alive.

It's true. There are many similarities between Toronto and Chicago. For one, the city of Toronto's population is around 2.5 million. Chicago's hovers around 2.9 million. Toronto, like Chicago, lies along a Great Lake. Toronto parallels a stretch of northwest Lake Ontario. Chicago, of course, is at the southwest corner of Lake Michigan. Downtown Toronto, like Chicago, is clean, classy and full of energy year-round. The modernity of Canada's biggest city easily blends in with the community's visible respect for the historical. A reverence for architecture and other cultures is clearly evident.

Toronto, Canada is really the epicenter of our neighbor to the North. It's situated in the country's most populated province, Ontario. In fact, one-third of all 30 million Canadians reside within 100 miles of Toronto. It's the nation's financial capital and with its relatively low crime rate and high standard of living, is considered one of the most livable cities in the world.

For Chicago area residents looking for a weekend getaway, considering Toronto is something new and exciting. It's as easy to get to Toronto from O'Hare Airport as it is to New York or Washington‹and faster. The flight time is only about 90 minutes. From Pearson Airport, it takes a taxi ride of about 30 minutes to reach downtown. There are a plethora of hotels to choose from, many located just a few blocks from the CN Tower and many of the main attractions. We stayed at the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel, one of the "in places" in Toronto we're told, with its sleek design and fabulous service.

In order to get your bearings, hiring a guide or taking a group tour of downtown is recommended. We were fortunate to link up with Bruce Bell, one of Toronto's best known experts who one day seven years ago decided to make a big change in his life. That's when he threw away his necktie and the predictability of corporate life to thrust head first into his true passion: studying the history of Toronto and telling people about it. Since 2000, Bell has led thousands of tours. Two years ago, Mayor Richard Daley and his wife, Maggie, spent two hours with him walking the streets of Toronto. He said the Daleys were splendid and very interested in knowing more about the city.

If Toronto is the epicenter of Canada, then King Street is the city's main artery that pumps its vim and vigor. It's a wide east-west boulevard that was named after King George in 1793, the British monarch who only a few years earlier engaged in a scuffle with 13 outlaw colonies to the south. Along the avenue lies at least 20 restaurants that ooze personality with names like "Kit Kat" and "Urban." Nearby, stand the Princess of Wales and Royal Alexandra theaters. There's also Roy Thompson Hall where the Toronto Symphony Orchestra performs. And just a block away from Bay Street‹Canada's Wall Street‹is the famous brown stoned St. Andrew Scottish Church that was built midway through the 19th century. All around are glistening skyscrapers of condominiums and office buildings. And just down the street is King Edwards Hotel, one of Toronto's most luxurious and famous inns where the Beatles and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (Liz and Dick as the locals say) stayed during the early 1960s.

A hub of Toronto, especially on Saturdays, is St. Lawrence Market. Thousands of visitors flock to this football-sized indoor farmers market to view and buy every conceivable kind of fresh food imaginable. Sausages hang above counters. Live lobsters grapple with each other for position inside a glass tank. Salmon, flounder, bakery goods and sirloin are everywhere. Parents and their toddlers sit at small round tables talking, drinking and eating. Other people seem to walk aimlessly absorbing the sights and inhaling the smell of fresh vegetables. The sounds of a bearded guitarist fills the air with Gordon Lightfoot songs. And a little old lady, bounded to an electric shopping cart, gives her pet puppy, named "Cleo" a bite of a muffin.

A visit to St. Lawrence Market wouldn't be complete without a Pea Meal Bacon Sandwich. As Bruce said, a Pea Meal Bacon Sandwich in Toronto is like pizza in Chicago. Everyone eats it and everyone likes it. A look around the frenzied Market proved his point.

There are literally hundreds of other things to do in Toronto. Outside our hotel, the Wayne Gretzy Sports Bar was full of laughter and beer. Less than a block away was Toronto's Second City impromptu live theater. A 10 minute cab ride away on Yonge Street is the Canon Theatre where "We Will Rock You," a rousing live production of music originally performed by the rock group Queen was staged. The theater resembled Chicago's beautiful Auditorium. That entire area of theaters and activity had an air of Times Square about it.

Entering and leaving Canada is a snap even in this day and age of passports and security. There are several flights daily to and from O'Hare. Money-wise, because of the recent devaluation of American currency, the exchange rate with Canadian dollars is about one to one. That rate, however, frequently fluctuates. For more information about Ontario and Toronto, visit website www.ontariotravel.net or call 1-800-ONTARIO.